Persad Leads Cultural Competency Trainings Across Pennsylvania

In March 2012, Persad Center received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of Family Health Division to provide LGBTQ cultural competency training to agencies participating in the state's Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP).

As part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Congress authorized PREP: the first federal funding stream for programs that teach about abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The majority of the agencies receiving PREP grants provide residential services to adolescents, with the continuum of care ranging from outpatient services to secure detention.

Persad Center is playing a critical role in the PREP program by helping to increase LGBTQ cultural awareness within the broader social services community; by increasing awareness of service barriers for LGBTQ youth and adolescents; and by supporting participating agencies in the successful implementation of their PREP grants.

Over the past nine months, the agency has collaborated with 12 different organizations at 17 sites in 11 counties (Allegheny, Venango, Crawford, McKean, Adams, York, Northumberland, Northampton, Lehigh, Susquehanna, and Philadelphia) throughout Pennsylvania. LGBTQ Cultural Competency training has been provided to approximately 500 staff members. For the upcoming year, Persad will continue to provide LGBTQ 101 training to staff in the participating organizations, and will also facilitate advanced topic training.

Additionally, Persad Center provided a “Training of Trainers” to fifteen staff members from ten of the participating PREP agencies to help them to become champions of change within their respective organizations.